Some think the City of Jade Spires is a utopia. It very much isn’t.

Holly Drake is in prison for defending herself from a murderer. That’s the kind of corruption thriving in the city where evidence is destroyed and the innocent go to jail.

But everything’s about to change.

Someone exonerates Holly and she walks free. She has no idea who. Or why. But they have a job for her: steal back the Eye of the Colossus, a priceless jewel. It’s about to be moved off-planet, and when that happens, the trail will go cold.

Out of prison with no other work on the horizon, the job is a gift. If only she knew how to pull off a heist. The clock is ticking. If she can assemble a team and pretend like she knows how to do this, maybe she can fake it long enough to do a job better suited for a master-thief. Why Holly? Who’s pulling her strings? And just how far across the moon system will she have to go to finish the job?

This is Holly Drake. Someone tried to kill her once. She survived. Will she beat the odds once again?

The Eye of the Colossus features a snarky, strong, badass heroine on her way from the bottom of her game to the top. Grab your copy today!

Product description

Product Description

Some think the City of Jade Spires is a utopia. It very much isn’t.

Holly Drake is in prison for defending herself from a murderer. That’s the kind of corruption thriving in the city where evidence is destroyed and the innocent go to jail.

But everything’s about to change.

Someone exonerates Holly and she walks free. She has no idea who. Or why. But they have a job for her: steal back the Eye of the Colossus, a priceless jewel. It’s about to be moved off-planet, and when that happens, the trail will go cold.

Out of prison with no other work on the horizon, the job is a gift. If only she knew how to pull off a heist. The clock is ticking. If she can assemble a team and pretend like she knows how to do this, maybe she can fake it long enough to do a job better suited for a master-thief. Why Holly? Who’s pulling her strings? And just how far across the moon system will she have to go to finish the job?

This is Holly Drake. Someone tried to kill her once. She survived. Will she beat the odds once again?

The Eye of the Colossus features a snarky, strong, badass heroine on her way from the bottom of her game to the top. Grab your copy today!

Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com

Cruise ships between moons. Chill aliens, uptight aliens, and humans. A heist with its own heist. Things going wrong. Stirred, not shaken. You get the picture.

This is, without a doubt, a fun book. It’s difficult to talk about it without giving the good stuff away. I’d be like that friend who starts talking about a cool movie and doesn’t realize they’ve given away the whole plot because they’re too busy running their mouth. I don’t want to be that guy, but…

Holly’s rebuilding her life from the ground up. She’ll do anything to get ahead. Along the way, she draws in some interesting characters that are fun to read and follow.

Charly, she’s a fighter in ways that don’t become clear until you get deeper into the story.

Meg is Holly’s sister. She’s a cop. She’s a tough cop. And a mom. And an ex.

Gabe. Also a cop. (He’s the ex.)

Odeon, he’s a Yasoian. They’re chill. He’s chiller with some skills. Some of those skills are off the books. His parents wouldn’t be proud of his actions. If they knew. (They don’t.)

Shiro is a dandy dandy. There’s something about him I haven’t figured out yet.

So that’s the cast of main characters. There’s more, but these are the heart of the story. It sort of reminds me of the old days of Mission Impossible, the TV show, where they recruited based on character’s abilities. And then they walked away to explosions and stuff as the credits roll. Sadly, nothing blows up. But there is a lot of shooting. Bang. Bang.

The author tells an interesting story and tells it nicely. It was easier to keep reading than to put the book down. Reading some books is much like dragging your brain across sandpaper (60-grit) while others are like sliding your brain across silk. Eye of the Colossus belongs in the latter category.The story arc is well planned and I didn’t see the twist. (Twist? I didn’t say twist. Ignore that.)

Enjoyed the book enough to pre-order the second book: Hands of the Colossus: A Steampunk Space Opera Adventure (A Holly Drake Job Book 2)

A motley crew (not Mötley Crüe), a dubious employer, a seemingly-impossible and dangerous job. Holly Drake, a convicted (but reprieved) felon who is definitely NOT a criminal, is recruited for and tasked with the retrieval (heist) of a jeweled medallion of unknown (maybe questionable) value. She must hire a team, plan the caper, and execute the plan with little more than guesswork, luck and duct tape (so to speak). Failures, successes, twists and turns in a well-built world (the 6-Moons region), with capable but curious characters, and a greater story moral than could be expected at the outset.

A very good read, and leaves one in anticipation of the next installment.

What an exciting and fun read! Heist books are really neat, because you never know what kind of characters your going to get and this rag-tag group was funny and special in their own way. They each had strengths and I liked how the author added her own flare and twist to take the story one step further. Something that starts off small and slightly dangerous sure does take huge turn near the end. I will be watching out for further Holly Drake novels.

If you like space opera thrillers then I would recommend this. Funny cast, great world building and a intriguing story-line make for a great read!

It’s a good read. It made me laugh, it made me sad, it made me think, it made me mad, isn’t this why we read? I have been a science fiction fan for many years, I always hope for a book with believable science fiction and a story that grabs my attention and keeps me reaching for the next page. Eye of the Colossus got ‘er done!

The setting of the story is expansive, a world consisting of six habitable moons circling a gas giant and shared by a number of interesting species from far and wide. Into this unlimited backdrop, the author weaves a tale of crime and corruption that would be just as interesting in the here and now.

I also liked the ending, especially because it was was an ending. I have always disliked books which use cliffhangers requiring us to go to the next book to learn what happened. After reading Eye of the Colossus, it is clear that the characters we have meet and gotten to know, will be back with new adventures but we know how this adventure worked out. I am looking forward to the next chapter.

5.0 out of 5 starsShe's in prison, but because of a crooked cop "Dead" husband.

2 August 2018 - Published on Amazon.com

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Holly Drake is released from prison...years early. She's thinking her sister Meg went to bat for her, maybe true. She gets offered a job, seems sleezy, but money she needs, since she can't go back to teaching. She forms a team and the whole job seems to change a long the way.